Frozen Hours
by GirlInASuit
Summary: "I'm better off without you." - That was the last thing he said to his brother before the unexpected attack. Now he is walking in the snow, desperately searching for his leader. His leader, who's almost frozen to death... [rewritten version of Deception]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey there! Well... after so many lame works, I finally decided to pull myself together and try to come up with my best knowledge of writing (because my friend lectured me about being such a moron and I should finish one of my stories). So I took my story named _Deception_ and started to rewrite it in some different ways this morning. Deception was a Leo&Raph centric story since I love the tension between these two characters and I also like stories where their brotherhood is analyzed so deeply. Therefore I try to nail their personalities as much as I can so story will contain a lot of character study as well. I have to tell you guys I've set the bar high, so the translation will be a real challenge for me. :D Wish me luck!**

**Rated T for violence and Raphael's pretty mouth.**

**Since I do not speak English fluently, if I make mistakes, let me know. [:**

**I do not own TMNT or its characters.**

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**Prologue**

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They fought with each other. Yet again. But this time the fight was much different than the previous ones. As usual, this quarrel had also started with words. Words that had huge weight, yet they were throwing them easily. The tension had become more concentrated, almost thickened palpable in the otherwise frosty air. The two fighting parties were standing in a tense posture, ready to fight with the other, just as if a storm would've been starting. The conflict between the two of them had long been established and occasionally burst out the passage of time. The red warrior carried a strong conflict under his skin, and he particularly fond of letting it out of his older brother. Love, hate, contempt, appreciation. He was the stronger of the two, the tougher who liked hiding his emotions under a cover. This cover was anger. He hated when someone tried to control him, made him instructions. He was smart enough to know what was allowed and what was not. He didn't need a leader who didn't see his true self, who didn't recognize that he was indeed capable of great things if he outperformed himself.

The blue warrior was generally calm and order reigned in his mind, but this time his head was infected with monstrous rage. Of the two, he was more qualified, loyal to the teachings and more obedient. He thought about his leadership as an important duty. He knew exactly how hard his role in the family was since a family consisting of above-average ninjas, was not easy to keep under control. He especially had problems with his hot-headed brother since the red warrior's independence prevented him carrying out his duties and no matter what kind of instructions was dropped out of his mouth; he was never willing to follow him. He was unable to see that he only wanted the best for the family.

The weather was terribly cold and windy. The field of vision was disturbed with white fog and heavy snowfall. But the blood in the two fighters' veins was boiling such an extent that they didn't feel the biting cold at all. Their eyes threw sparks, their muscles bulged, their weapons' blade caught the pale light. That fight probably made no sense since they were after all brothers! Although, it might have had a point, maybe such a violent thunderstorm would make them understand the other's point of view. Perhaps they might looked-for it. Everyone needed an outburst sometimes.

Then the battle began. The snow only made the dance difficult for the two of them, but their anger pumped strength to all parts of their bodies, blinding them. They wanted to prove to the other. They wanted to prove they were better and more capable than the other thought. The wind blew far the sounds of the weapons, their forced moans melded into the whiteness. They were fighting and fighting and fighting. With beautiful movements, violence and desire of victory.

The red warrior already foresaw the outcome of the battle. He would win because his brother had thought too much of himself and had said something what had made him laughter in absolution. He wanted to stomp him into the ground since the blue turtle's words had proved he was able to defeat his heroic leader. Who was not such a great leader after all. Or better. The blue warrior was also aware of his flaws. He had said something he wanted to erase, but nobody could change the past. What's done is done, leaving a mark forever. The sudden flaring fighting spirit had gone; he no longer wanted to fight his brother. He was losing.

But the battle wasn't ended by the victory of one of them but by an undesirable third party… or parties? The air suddenly filled with breaths painted white and with glowing red eyes. Something flashed in the distance, something that, despite the heavy snowfall, was seen for the blue warrior. He didn't even care about the conflict towards his brother, because something was not right. After many blinks he figured out what he had seen. A gun. Someone pulled the trigger. His muscles tensed at the same time, the adrenaline flowed through his veins. With a powerful movement he tossed his rage-heated brother to the ground, who landed in the snow face down.

"Look out!" he cried desperately. He then felt a terrible pain. The sound of the shot came only after the pang.

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**A/N: Cliffhanger...?**

**What do you think? Is it bad?**  
**Feel free to review and let me know what you think.**

**Have nice day! [:**

**~_ GirlInASuit_**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi everyone! I just wanna say thank you for your nice reviews! You guys make me so happy. I'm glad you like the idea.  
The story written mostly from Raphael's POV since Leonardo is... why am I talking? Read and find out. [;  
Italics are flashbacks (copied from Deception).  
**

**Since I do not speak English fluently, if I make mistakes, let me know.**

**I do not own TMNT.**

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**First ~ Frozen Brother**

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He didn't know how long he had been walking. Maybe minutes had passed? Or hours? He didn't even care. His tired body was covered with bleeding wounds in several places, his legs had frozen such an extent that he no longer felt the new-fallen snow between his toes. His green skin discolored into bluish, his face, however, flushed due to the freezing wind. He was tired and cold, after each step his limbs began to shout in pain. But he couldn't give up. His bloodshot eyes filled with tears, the wind blew tiny snowflakes in his face strongly, preventing him from sight. Everything around him was white, blinding white. He didn't even know which direction he had come from, his footprints in the snow disappeared. A faint, muffled groan left his mouth from time to time, his teeth chattered. He was cold, horribly cold; his hands had gone numb as he gripped the blood-stained Sai.

It was the coldest section of the winter right now. He preferred to sit on the couch with a blanket and watching the news of the terrible blizzards on TV, but no. He had to be there somewhere in the middle of nowhere frozen, injured. That's because he and his brother were fighting more than usual. And of course more roughly. In front of his eyes his home, the pleasantly warm atmosphere and the dojo, reeking with sweat appeared.

_The usual calm, quiet morning mood characterized the Lair._

"_Save this vigilante bullshit to the police!"_

"_I'm done takin' your damn orders. I'm not a kid anymore; I know what I'm doing!"_

"_If you really knew we wouldn't be in this situation now!"_

_Yes, the usual morning mood characterized the Lair, the home of the turtles. It had already become a part of everyday life that after a warm breakfast and sweaty exercise the quiet and peacefulness were disturbed by lustily shouting and violent quarrel which broke out between the two oldest brothers. These discussions had been built into the daily routine so much that the two younger ones didn't seem to notice. But they did. Once their master had said, people are shouting to each other because their souls are far apart and it is the only way to hear the other. Was it possible that Leonardo and Raphael's spirits were too far from each other?_

_No, that assumption couldn't be true, since the two turtles were not just yelling, but also fighting. It had already occurred more than once that they jumped at each other with a weapon or without a weapon, which never resulted well. They had done damage to the furnishings or harmed the other. These depraved fights had aroused everyone's attention and concern. Don prepared a few bandages or glue on his desk every morning if he would need it that day. Mike clasped his fingers, hoping that today would be fine._

_Master Splinter, as always, was sitting in his room on the tatami mat in lotus position, motionless, closed eyes, listening to the new erupting volcano. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to reconcile his two enraged sons with each other, he always failed, but he had tried it in several ways. He thought the early childhood was the worst period of education. He was wrong. As they became older and older, his sons became more intractable and more uncontrollable. It was impossible to keep them under control. The truth was that at first he hadn't want to intervene, waiting to resolve the problem themselves, but they had not. And now… now it may be too late._

_The master sighed deeply and wondered what could have caused the huge conflict between the two parties. Had he messed up the education? Or perhaps they had acquired such injuries in previous battles which he hadn't noticed? He didn't know, but one thing was certain. If he didn't do something, his two sons' and indeed the whole family's good health could disappear. He must act as soon as possible before it was too late. But it may already be too late._

_Clattering sound associated to the shouting. The old rat's eyes snapped open, his body stiffened. That's it, he couldn't take it anymore. It's time to intervene. He stood up and left the room._

_The air boiled in the dojo and filled with rage. Raphael and Leonardo quarreled violently, more violently than usual. Both of them tensed, their hands clenched and so much anger and hatred reflected on their faces that the family hadn't seen so many negative emotions before. The rack was overturned and the blue turtle's brow was bleeding, the blood had wetted his blue mask. The tension became palpable and it mixed in the air like a paper carried by a tornado. The red-banded turtle gritted his teeth and was ready to pull his weapons out. Anger. So… so much anger._

"_Last chance, Fearless," Raph snapped sarcastically. His brother laughed out loud._

"_Are you trying to threaten me? You're doing it wrong," he answered and grabbed his own weapons, ready to attack. Meanwhile, Mikey appeared at the entrance, watching the feverish altercation with terrified gaze. _They really want to kill each other_, the thought crossed his mind._

"_You won't laugh for long," commented the red-clad turtle then pulled out his sais from his belt._

"_What are you doing? You really wanna attack me? If I'm right, you stayed on the ground last time."_

"_You're too arrogant, ya' know that?"_

"_Are you jealous?"_

"_Nobody wants to be like _you_." It was the last drop. Leo drew out his katanas and took up a fighting position, ready to defend… or attack. His eyes threw sparks._

"_I won't let you doing nonsense again," he warned his brother._

"_Try to stop me," challenged his sibling Raphael. That was the cue. The two brothers were about two meters apart, muscles bulging, eyes strangling. They were panting heavily, sweat beaded on their foreheads. Meanwhile, Don also appeared at the door and silently watching the impending clash. The truth was that no one wanted to intervene, they didn't dare. They knew they couldn't influence them, couldn't control them. If they interrupted, they would only make things worse. But this time it was too much. The family hoped that after defeating the Foot their lives would be somewhat easier. Unfortunately, they were wrong. All the time. The two eldest had turned against each other and acted exactly like two archenemies. And it was way worse than fighting with the real enemy. Much, much worse. _

_The two weapons met, thus the fight began. But soon a third voice interrupted it before it could be too late._

"_Enough!" Leonardo and Raphael froze, glancing curiously at the back of the dojo. Splinter. The old family man stepped out of the shadows with a slow motion, tapping his cane a few times on the ground. Based on his facial expression, he wasn't happy, he was disappointed. Tremendously disappointed. The two turtles stepped away from each other and then lowered their weapons. They were seemingly very stunned by their father's cry which was still echoing in the dojo._

"_Boys, what's this behavior?" The master's strong voice sounded almost eerily. "Go to my room, now!"_

_Donatello and Michelangelo watched in shock as their siblings leaving the dojo and disappearing in their father's bedroom. This was not expected, not even a little. They looked at each other then again at the closing door. The orange-clad turtle jerked his head towards the door and Don nodded. They wanted to hear what was going to happen._

_Behind the closed door Raphael and Leonardo knelt beside their master head down, contritely. Splinter was pacing up and down in front of them and wondering what to do with them now. He had to realize that his children had grown up so it would be much harder to convince them to do anything._

"_I simply am unable to believe this," shook his head the old rat in disbelief. "You've grown up. I thought there will be no more problems from here for such an old man like I am… but look at yourselves. You are here who destroy this beautiful imagination."_

_The two turtles bowed their heads even lower._

"_We're sorry, master," Leonardo apologized._

"_Do not ask for forgiveness. This time I will not forgive," said Splinter. "This condition is not good. Your ongoing battle is unhealthy for the family, but especially for you. Maybe you don't feel it, but you are tearing apart the family bond between the two of you with these arguments. And I'm not going to tolerate this."_

_Raphael snorted._

"_But Sensei, how do you expect of me to endure Leo's arrogant behavio –"_

"His_ behavior is wrong. He thinks he can do anything. The Nightwatcher's time is o –"_

"_I'm not his little soldier, who he can cont –"_

"_He is irresponsible and thoughtless –"_

"_Oh, really?"_

"_You heard me!"_

_Another altercation broke out, but this time in front of their father's eyes. Leo grabbed the back of Raph's neck while he reached for Leo's face as if he would've wanted to poke his eyes out. Splinter's blood pressure elevated._

"_Hey, hey! Stop it now!" he shouted again, frowning. The two turtles let go of each other, but their stinging eyes were still murdering the other. "What do you think you are?" continued Splinter angrily."__How old are you? Twenty? Just because you are behaving exactly like two little kids. But it would end today. I did not want to end that way, but you left me no other choice. I will impose a punishment on you."_

_The two siblings gazed at their father immediately._

"_A punishment?"_

This was how the two hot-headed turtles found themselves in the middle of nowhere, where the days were characterized with fierce blizzards and cold air. It was at least thirty degrees below freezing in Celsius if not less. Master Splinter had sent them here to settle their disagreement. Unfortunately, they failed. This time their quarrel took a turn as never before.

They had been ambushed. Raphael had no idea who they had fought against; he had failed to recognize them, nor their battle techniques. In any case, they had been outnumbered. He had gained a lot of injuries before he finally managed to escape from them. Whoever the attackers had been, they had had guns in their possession… a shot… blood… Leo… Leo!

Raphael's heart leapt in his chest. In his head was a huge confusion, he didn't know what had happened in the last few hours. He didn't know how he had escaped. He didn't know where he was right now. But he knew, his brother had saved him… he had been shot while protecting him… Then one more shot... had he been hit again? And Leo… what the fuck had happened? The red-clad turtle's head ached terribly; he wasn't able to recall his memories. However, an alarm rang in his mind shouting his brother's name.

Now he knew. He had been searching for him for hours. Or days? He suddenly didn't feel the air so icy, perhaps because the wind abated, the snow slowly stopped falling. The horizon became clear within a few minutes. The first thing what Raph noticed was a frozen lake and blood. Wait a minute… blood?

There were puddles of blood on the ice. Raphael looked at himself. He had injuries, but not so severe. Was it possible, the blood belonged to an enemy? Or was it Leo's? The excitement pumped adrenaline into the turtle's tired legs. With rapid steps he started to follow the blood marks on the ground, which led him down to a lakeside. His heart was beating faster and faster, he didn't heard anything only the blood throbbing in his ears.

He unexpectedly noticed something in the distance. As if Raphael would've been stabbed in the gut. That thing was his brother, lying in the snow motionless, frozen.

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**A/N: What do you think? Drop me a line. [:**

**Have a nice day!**

**~ _GirlInASuit_**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey! I just wanna say thank you for your reviews and sorry for the cliffhanger... but I love writing cliffhangers, so... :'D  
And because you wanted, I'm working on a sequel for _The Edge of Insanity_. [:  
Anyways, the following chapter was a real challenge for me, maybe too big. It was truly a big bite, I have to admit. I wanted to write something, something good, something desperate, but I failed. I don't like this chapter and the translation is horrible too, but I'll correct the mistakes as soon as I can.  
Since I do not speak English fluently, if I make mistakes, let me know.**

**Warning: rough wording and a lot of angsty stuff.**

**I do not own TMNT.**

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**Second ~ Without Help**

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When a lot of anger built up over the years suddenly becomes despair in the worst way, it is the most dreadful experience in the world.

Raphael could taste it, because the worst feeling in the world shifted on his shoulders as he reached his still form of his brother. He didn't know what he felt right now; there was a complete chaos in his mind. The frosty air stung his skin, but his feelings caused much more pain, more than he could imagine. His lungs tightened, choking sensation attacked him. His hands were shaking as if electricity would have been led into them. His remaining force left his system, he could not stay on his feet; he feebly fell to his knees beside his brother. Something gnawed him from the inside, like a ferocious beast would've dug his sharp claws into his flesh to cleave him slowly, painfully. His amber eyes were already red with tears, but these tears weren't wetting his face because of the cold. The soreness was unbearable…

Leonardo was lying on his plastron in the snow. His green skin was definitely not visible; every part of his body took on a bluish tint. The snow was red with blood what he had lost, but it seemed to had stopped bleeding, but not because of the gaping wound on his shoulder began to be mended, but rather because the spilling blood had frozen. There were no sign of his weapons. The water had frozen onto the blue-clad turtle's skin and his shell and elbow pads had turned white of the resulting hoarfrost. It had only one specific reason. Leonardo was lying next to a lake, probably because he had sunk under water, but managed to get out to the shore somehow.

Raphael's stomach clenched as he looked at his brother. _No… this cannot happen… I'm just dreamin'… this cannot be happening…_ He began to lose his sanity. He had no idea what to do; his whole body had been prevailed over by panic. He reached for Leo gently, but suddenly pulled back his hand and closed his eyes. He was trying to alleviate the symptoms of an anxiety attack by deep breaths. Leo was lying in front of him… unmoving… lifeless… so… so motionless… _No. He is alive, he's just unconscious… alive… he isn't completely frozen… alive…_

Gathering his courage slowly, Raphael very gently turned Leonardo onto his back. As he caught a look on the leader's face, he suddenly got to his feet and ran directly to the edge of the lake, where retched. His heart nearly jumped out of his seat, head buzzed, vision blurred. His body was no longer under his control. _So that is a panic attack?_ He pressed his hands to his head and waited for his lungs to be filled with oxygen again. _Calm down, for fuck's sake, calm down!_

Leonardo's face was so… so pale… lifeless… his mouth had become purple, the water just as on his skin, had frozen onto his face. There was a nasty, dirty wound on his shoulder covered with blood. He had been hit. The turtle in red couldn't take it anymore. _Leo had frozen… frozen to death…_

Between a few deep breaths, he walked back to his seemingly death brother, kneeling down again. Now he was the one who had to be strong. It was solely his fault. If he hadn't been so stubborn before, then they wouldn't have fought against each other and perhaps they would've been cleverer against the real attackers. Maybe Raph sometimes wanted him to go into the very depths of hell, but they were brothers after all. And perhaps Leo wouldn't have been shot… maybe he would've been still alive… was he alive? But he had already lost a lot of blood and had frozen…

Raphael gently laid his head on his sibling's chest, and waited. He didn't know what he was waiting for; he was just waiting with eyes shut. Maybe it was just a bad nightmare which he would wake up from. And then… he felt something. Something that set him on fire. He felt slow, very slow, but steady heartbeat, associated with subtle breathing. His brother was alive. Leo was alive… alive… but his body was so cold… his skin was so… but there was hope. There really was hope.

"Hey, Fearless." Raphael cleared his throat; his voice was hoarse and raw. "Leo. Don't do this to me. I know ya' can hear me. Look, I'm not gonna beg, just… open those fuckin'…"

A lump grew in his throat; he didn't find the right words and those many tears falling onto his brother's frozen chest…

As he expected, Leonardo didn't respond. Yet he didn't give up. "I'm serious, Leo. Don't do this to me. I can't carry ya' alone. Wake up, bro… ya' hear me? I hate you. I was a fuckin' idiot, I know, but _please_, don't do this ta me." He bit his lower lip, a bitter chuckle left his throat. "I promised I was not gonna beg, yet I did…"

He should've been strong, but failed. The huge amount of anger transformed into despair started eating him with more force. But he could no longer take it anymore. His hands balled into fists, his throat let out a powerful roar, the echoes was flown away by the air. He was unable to control himself… he couldn't… couldn't…

When he finally cried the pain out of himself, his head somewhat cleared, so he could gather up the pieces. What should he do? He didn't want this… he didn't want his brother to get hurt because of him. He did not want it to be done. He was alone, cold, panicked, but he was forbidden to give up. Then he remembered. He had his cell phone. Maybe it still worked. He straightened up and grabbed for it with trembling fingers. It was still in one piece. The cell phone worked! Raph immediately dialed Donnie, while laying a hand on Leo's uninjured shoulder. After five rings, Don picked up.

"_Don."_

"Thank God… Donnie." The red-banded turtle's voice trembled.

"_Raph? Shell, I did not expect you. What's up? Is everything…"_

"No, nothing's fine! We've been attacked, Leo's injured, and everything's fucked up!" Donatello's words very annoyed Raphael. He just had no time to do so. His desperate yelling probably scared the purple-clad turtle, a few moments of silence followed.

"_Holy Shell… please tell me you're okay!"_

"Do _not_ worry about me! Leo got shot… it doesn' look good," blurted Raph, his heart began to beat faster. He felt the panic attack once again wants him under its control.

"_Raph, listen to me, listen to me! Calm down, okay? Deep breath, deep breath, you hear me?"_ The line was terrible, Don's voice was extremely crackling.

"Calm down? Don, he's in fuckin' bad shape! He is… he just…" He closed his eyes to ward off the convulsion. No, he had to stay strong now… His terror couldn't win…

"_Raph, please! We won't achieve anything with panic. Calm down. I want to hear you taking deep breaths."_ He was right. If Raph got an attack, Leo's condition wasn't going to improve, so he tried to breathe deeply so that it could be heard in spite of the crackling. _"Okay. That's it. You're doing it well."_ When Raphael's body was no longer trembling so much, his speech was not hysterical, Don became serious. _"All right. Now please tell me what exactly your location is."_

The turtle in red stared off into the distance.

"It's hard to tell… Splinter sent us there… he knows," he explained still slightly upset.

"_All right."_ Due to the ongoing debates, Leonardo and Raphael had been forced to the north, a region of Newfoundland where the harsh winter wasn't favorable for anyone. It was the punishment for the way they had behaved lately. However, no one had expected that that there would be unforeseen visitors here as well.

"Don, how long till you get here?" asked Raph, glancing at Leo again with fear and tears in his eyes.

"_I don't know. Possibly hours."_

"Hours? Fuck, we don't have hours, Don! Leo… he nearly froze to death! He just… he…" Hearing the answer, the emotions scourged the labile red turtle again. He couldn't think, he couldn't calm down, he couldn't…

"_Raphael! Relax and try to concentrate! This is important! What injuries Leo suffered?"_ came the question. Raphael caught his breath, and with great difficulty looked his brother over.

"He probably fell into water during the attack… h-his whole body's frozen… he got shot… left shoulder… his heart rate and breathing steady but slow… he's so, so cold." Raph tried to swallow back the lump in his throat. "What the hell can I do, Donnie?"

"_First and foremost, take him somewhere safe and if possible to a warm place. Please look closely at the wound. If the bullet is still in his flesh, you will have to remove it before it becomes a problem,"_ explained the purple-masked turtle. Raphael hit the ground with his fist.

"You kiddin' me? I'm no doctor, I cannot do this!" he shouted lustily. The line quality gradually deteriorated, it was a miracle he had managed to make a call.

"_There's no other option!"_

"That hole has to be patched! I… I've never done this before!" complained Raphael with growing anger… or rather panic. He just… he was unable to believe what he heard. No… he wouldn't. He couldn't… no… damn it, no!

"_Then it's time to get started! You must treat the wound before Leo bleeds to death, you hear? This is not a game, Raph!"_ Don was tough on the basis of his tone, but also worried, very worried.

"I know brainiac!" snapped up the red-clad turtle then looked at the shot wound and the clotted blood. "But his blood… Don… his blood's frozen too!"

"_Blood is a compound liquid, it doesn't freeze so easy just a few components of it and otherwise you can't leave him out in the cold! Raph, you must do this alone. I'll do everything I can, but I won't get there in time. Try to warm him up slowly, gradually after you treated the wound. You don't want him to die, do you?"_

No. Raphael didn't want it to say at least. He previously had been angry with him, but now… he didn't know what he felt. In his chest strange emotions mixed with each other. He was in complete despair. It was his entire fault, his fucking fault. They were always fighting, but they were brothers, brothers, among whom the relationship had substantially deteriorated. Raph could not let this worsening continue. He took deep sighs, and for the first time dared to look directly at his unconscious brother's face. Dark circles appeared under his closed eyes, he seemed so weak. He needed help fast and Raph was his only hope.

"Fine," he decided finally. "We somehow get back to our accommodation." His voice was harsh and cold.

"_I try to keep in touch with you and instruct you, okay?"_

"'Kay. Thanks, Don."

"_Don't talk. Take care of Leo. Call me when you reached the accommodation."_ Then the line went dead. Raphael suddenly felt very lonely, panic attack began to hurt him from inside again, but this time he didn't let it win. His hands clenched into fists as he stared into the distance. He realized that he had no idea where the accommodation was. Everything was covered with snow, the whiteness was blinding, and he had to squint. He wanted to scream, but his throat was so dry he could barely speak. Now a life depended on him, his only big brother's, his leader's. He mustn't screw up; he had to be strong… for Leo.

He took a deep breath of the frosty air, then began to think. He remembered that lake, their accommodation was somewhere in the vicinity, south maybe… no… east…yes… yes, east! A modicum of power moved into Raphael's body. Maybe there was a little hope for the two of them. They could be saved, they had to be saved. Carefully, very… very carefully, he lifted Leonardo's lifeless, frozen body from the ground, paying attention to gunshot wound and other injuries. He took his arm on his shoulder, and started to walk towards the east. Leo's skin was cold, so very cold…

"Hang in there, bro. Hang on."

He walked slowly in the snow, taking small steps. He had no idea how long he had been walking, it seemed like hours, in addition to Leo's body was still terribly cold and lifeless, and he began to lose his temper again. It was his fault; for his mistakes Leo paid. He was quite an idiot! They shouldn't have to come here. They shouldn't have to fight. Why had they fought? Why did they hate each other? Why…? All of this wouldn't have happened… Leo wouldn't… God, he was dying… he would not able to save him… no…

After about half an hour of walking, the accommodation finally unfolded in the distance. There it was, only a hundred yards away from them the shelter, the warm and safe shelter. Raphael couldn't stand it any longer; he fell to his knees in relief, almost dropping his brother. But he didn't. He held him close, defending the young leader, who he hated… no… he loved him more than anything. Because he loved Leo, but never admitted it. He was a macho, and macho guys weren't sentimental.

He once again reached for his cell phone to inform his genius brother. But as he pressed on the call list, the phone's display suddenly went black and it did not respond to anything. Raph couldn't dial Donnie.

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**A/N: What do you think? Please tell me they weren't too OOC!**  
**Sorry for the mistakes once again.**

**Feel free to review.**

**Have a nice day! [:**

**~ _GirlInASuit_**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! Oh my gosh, thank you so much for your awesome reviews! The story reached 1000+ views! I'm hyperventilating, really! :'D  
So here I am with the fourth update, really hope you'll like it.  
Italics are flashbacks.**

**Since I do not speak English fluently, if I make mistakes let me know.**

**I do not own TMNT or its characters.**

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**Third ~ Emergency**

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Donatello sat wide-eyed opposite of a computer monitor, motionless. His hand clutched his cell phone, his mind was pounding and pounding without stopping. He kept thinking about Raphael's desperate voice which was still echoing in his mind. _They've been attacked… the weather is so cold… Leo's hurt… gunshot wound… frozen…_ He wanted to act, to help, but just wasn't able to move, his muscles didn't respond to any commands from his brain. He had to inform his master and Mikey. He had to do something, had to help, Raphael was counting on him. But he just sat there, not moving, not even blinking.

The situation looked highly serious. Raphael was a very strong and brave warrior, though, when panic attack caught him, he was unable to think clearly, but he was the only one who could save Leo. Newfoundland. A lot of miles, he wouldn't get there if he set off now, there was no way. Now everything depended on Raph. He somewhat knew how to clean wounds, though, he was not a doctor as he had claimed. Don was afraid he might not make it. But they needed to be succeeded. They needed to be succeeded.

The memory flashed in his mind of the day when their master had brought up the idea of the travel. Although the sensei wasn't happy about it, it was the only possible solution. Don already knew everything about Splinter's plan and not because he had been listening to the conversation with Mikey but he had managed to talk his teacher as well.

"_I will not tolerate this behavior. Perhaps I haven't told you but my former teacher, Master Yoshi knew a quiet, secluded place where he went if he needed silence and relaxation. He visited there so often that he decided to furnish the place as his second home, as his safe house. After his death the Foot ransacked the house and destroyed almost everything. I wanted to visit there by myself, but you left me no other option. You will go there as a punishment to select my teacher's undamaged Japanese history and martial art books and bring them to me. It is better to watch over; the house is supposedly haunted by a dark spirit. The Foot allegedly left the house because this particular dark soul scared them. But you won't be scared away since you will not return until all the intact writings are collected. And believe me; you are going to _need_ each other. You leave tomorrow." Splinter was determined and serious. He didn't want to do it, but he had no other chance._

"_But Sensei –"_

"_No buts."_

"_And where's this place?" came the question._

"_In the northern territory, in one of the eastern tip of Newfoundland," the master replied. Leonardo and Raphael's breathing stalled. T… they heard it well? Newfoundland? There was no way they travel there. No way. Their master was just kidding. He wanted to frighten them. He did a great job actually. No way._

"_What?"_

"_It is better to start packing. You will need warm clothes. According to the weather report, snowdrifts and blizzards characterize the countryside," Splinter added._

_As though Raphael would've been kicked in the stomach. His eyes widened, his whole body shuddered. "You're bullshitting me," he blurted out in surprise, a little impolitely._

"_Watch your words, Raphael," the sensei warned him. "I'm so sorry my sons, but the decision is final. You shall not withdraw yourselves from this." The red-masked turtle huffed in anger. He simply didn't want to believe this. No way. He was not willing to go. No way. "It's your fault," he growled at Leonardo._

"_Raphael! Go packing!" interrupted Splinter. Rolling his eyes, the turtle got up, looking at Leo once more with so much fury in his gaze. "You better watch your ass, Fearless," he hissed and then left the room, slamming the door behind him. He ignored the two listening parties. Cold ran along the back of Leo and turned toward his father with a small despair in his eyes. Master Splinter sighed._

"_I wonder what he is planning with my ass," the leader considered with small sarcasm in his tone, but he just wanted to conceal his disappointment and anxiety. _Unbelievable! He and Raph? No way. It will not end well_. Splinter sighed unconsciously loudly and lowered his head. It was too much for him today, but the day had just started._

"_Leonardo," he began," you're the leader of the family. I'm so disappointed in you. I had no idea that there's so much anger inside you," he explained gently while wiping the dried blood from his son's forehead._

"_I'm sorry. I failed you father. But you can't do this. Newfoundland? With Raph? You know him. His temper is ungovernable. I'm not going to prosper," he whispered barely hearable._

"_You're going to. You must. Go packing," the sensei instructed the young leader. "You're dismissed."_

_Leonardo got to his feet. "Yes, sensei," he answered then left the room. The father stared straight ahead lengthy. His thoughts swirled in his mind as a hurricane. Was it a good idea? He was not sure, but he had no choice. That cannot continue. That was the last drop. Who knows? Maybe the next time such a serious debate develops between them that someone will be seriously injured. And he won't let that happen._

_The door suddenly opened again and the curious Donatello entered. The purple-clad turtle stepped up to his master and said nothing, merely staring into space for a while. _

"_How long have you planned this?" he questioned finally._

"_Long enough," was the answer._

"_You don't need those Japanese writings, do you?" he asked after he had managed to hear everything crystal clear._

"_No."_

About half an hour had passed since Raphael's call. Thirty minutes of idleness, staring into space, thirty minutes of anxiety and growing fear. An exclamatory sentence had slipped through Donatello's mind fifty times, but he wasn't able to do it. He looked at his experimental assets as if they would have helped him. But they didn't help and cold ran through his spine. He furiously slapped the table and again grabbed his cell phone to call his brother back to inquire if they managed to reach safety. He didn't want to hang up, but he didn't know how long Raph's phone's battery would live. He immediately dialed his number. His stomach convulsively clenched, the buzzing sound in his head intensified, his hands began shaking noticeably. Waiting for the small ringing sound, he didn't hear it but a message that the dialed number is not in service.

If he hadn't been sitting right now, he would've lost his balance. His heart leapt in his chest and he found himself sweating, nausea attacked him, destroying his vision. Then all of a sudden adrenaline flowed through his body by moving each joints of him. His arms trembled while knocking off his things from the desk, knees repeatedly hitting the table legs. Was the dark spirit's legend true? Was it true? There really was a spirit there… attacking Donatello's siblings? Or something, someone else?

He couldn't remain stone sculpture anymore. He jumped up from the desk and reached the door swiftly, almost ripping out of its place. The adrenaline was doing its job thoroughly. As he ran through the living room towards Splinter's area, he nearly collided with Mike arrived from the kitchen, who immediately got scared because of Donatello' behavior. There was a slice of piping hot pizza in his hand. As he sensed that something was wrong, his blue eyes widened, the cool breath of fear ran across his back. He was no longer hungry.

"Hey, Don! What happened?" he asked alarmed. Don wasn't often seen such confused and when he was in confusion then something was completely up. Mike could touch all kinds of bad feelings well, this time it was even easier to do than usual. "Donnie? What's wrong?"

"Splinter's in his room?" the purple-clad turtle asked ardently without answering. The adrenaline caused by his fear was still working in his body. Mike's eyes narrowed curiously and also shocked at the same time, muscles tensed.

"Don, tell me what the hell's goin' on!" he cried upset.

Ironic. While talking to Raphael, the purple-masked turtle had tried to show how calm he had been, how collected, he had known what to say and now… now his heart almost jumped out of its place. He behaved as if he was struck by electricity. Maybe he just realized that he perhaps wouldn't see one of his brothers alive anymore. He just realized he was completely helpless, unable to contact with Raph.

"W-we must notify our father immediately. They're in huge trouble."

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts? Why Newfoundland? You'll find out soon. [:**  
**Pretty short, I know, but the next chapter will be longer.**

**Please let me know what you think!**

**Have a nice day! [:**

_**~ GirlInASuit**_


	5. Important Note

**Do you know the feeling when you're feverishly working on something important, something big and then suddenly it disappears? I figured out.**

**I was writing Frozen Hours busily when suddenly my computer's monitor blackened. A hint of panic unfolded my body, my heart stopped. I checked if the monitor's cable was disconnected from the electrical outlet and I had to realize that it wasn't just the screen playing with my temper, but my whole computer. It just shut down right before my eyes, the currently writing chapter gone. I took deep breaths. Okay, it was just one page, it's easy to rewrite.**

**I immediately notified my father about the dilemma who took my computer to his friend who knew how to solve the problem. I was really nervous, because I hadn't saved my works on my pen drive. Two days later my father's friend brought back my PC. I turned it on right away, taking a look on my writings. That was when my life shattered. All of my works were completely gone.**

**For the first ten minutes I was just staring blankly at the screen, without blinking, without breathing. Then the adrenaline flowed through my veins and I started screaming, jumping, I became completely hysterical. All of my translated works were gone! I just couldn't… I didn't… I swear I burst into tears. I wasn't able to hold it back any longer. Everything was gone! And I ALMOST finished Frozen Hours! Only two chapters left…**

**No, I just… I still can't believe it. I'm still hysterical. I… I don't know what to do. Maybe I should try and rewrite it… but that wouldn't be the same. I don't know. I don't feel I can do it again. I was almost fully done! No, really… I don't know what to do. Inspiration has gone out of my system. I've been thinking of writing short ficlets… but I just… I don't know. If you were me, what would you do?**

_**~ GirlInASuit**_


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